VL12 Social Brain 2

• division into good and bad is misleading

• most people are in between good and bad —> normal distribution

• extremes are altruism on the other

• good -> sharing

• bad -> keeping to self

• metaanalysis

  • 36% completely egoistic

  • 16% half and half

• distribution can be shifted to more egoistic side —> racial problems

• distribution can be shifted to more altruistic side —> after compassion training

• continuum in caring

  • extreme egoists (psychopaths) to extreme altruists

• relates altruism to parental care instincts

  • evolutionary origins

  • lactation requires proximity, cuddling

  • oxytocin promotes maternal care

  • there are proximal triggers that generealize

    • infantile features

    • adult distress

  • allows alloparenting

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  • no concern for welfare of others

  • no recognition of fear —> no learning through punishment

  • smaller amygdala volume

  • less brain activation to fearful faces

• higher valuation of others in economic task

• highly sensitive face/fear recognition

  • lower sensitivity for anger

• larger amygdala & higher response to fearful faces

  
  

• face

• vocalization

• posture

—> nonverbal cues convey acute distress

—> increased similarity to an infant

—> triggers empathy in other people

• offspring

  • precocial vs. atricial

• alloparenting limited vs. extensive

• oxytocin synthesis low

• oxytocin recepters low density in central amygdala &ventral striatum

• a. volume small

• amygdala and insula responsiveness to others distress low

• personality callous vs. compassionate

• social discounting function steep vs. shallow

• sensitivity to others distress low vs high

• developmental factors harsh, neglectful parenting

• group membership not shared with beneficiary, social closeness to object of care

• distress experienced by object of care

• mature robust infantile or vulnerable

• empathy

• inclusion of others in self

• justice sensitivity

• anterior insula

• temporo-parietal junction

• oxytocin

• periaqueductal grey

• anterior cingulate cortex

• amygdala

• heritability

• little socialization

• stability over time

• SEU

• survival of the fittest

• reciprocity and inclusive fitness (kinship care)

• evolutionary origins

• differences presocial and altricial species

• prosocial —> 46%

• usually generous —> 15%

• always selfish 39%

when looking at svo angles in studnets —> 85% prosocial

they want to

• maximize benefits for self and others

• minimize inequality

• mapped onto two dimensions orthogonal to each other

• individualism vs. altruism

• 4 groups

  • altruistic

  • prosocial

  • individualistic

  • competitive

• altruism can appear selfish when they are confrontational but

  • they may be altruistic towards the ingroup but antisocial towars others

  • may convey or enforce moral values

fusion of self & group prerequisite for self sacrifice

• can involve violence & confrontation

• not only about rewarding others

• also about punishing others to enforce fairness and prevent free riding

• changing the reinforcement matrix —> induce societal change